Why Lydia Becomes A Banshee In Teen Wolf (Not A Werewolf)

 Lydia’s transformation after the first season of MTV’s Teen Wolf was a surprising, but interesting way to introduce another creature to the universe.

Despite the titular wolves of Teen Wolf, some characters in MTV’s supernatural drama became other creatures, such as Lydia Martin (Holland Roden) when she becomes a banshee, even after receiving werewolf bite. Teen Wolf enjoyed great success from 2011-2017, as one of the most lucrative werewolf shows during the first two decades of the 2000s. Carrying out six seasons while following the lives of the supernatural students of Beacon Hills, some of the show’s twists came as a surprise to those familiar with werewolf lore.

Teen Wolf follows Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) and his friends after he’s bitten by a werewolf, becoming one himself. However, he’s not the only supernatural creature in his California town. Among Teen Wolf's monsters are werewolves Derek Hale (Tyler Hoechlin) and Liam Dunbar (Dylan Sprayberry), werecoyote Malia Tate (Shelley Hennig), kitsune Kira Yukimura (Arden Cho), and banshee Lydia Martin.

 Lydia’s story is unusual, however, in that she became a banshee after she was bitten by Alpha werewolf Peter Hale (Ian Bohen) in season 1. At the time, Peter was an Alpha werewolf looking to create a pack to take revenge on the werewolf hunters who burned his family home down, killing most of his family inside. Typically, someone bitten by an Alpha werewolf either becomes their Beta wolf in their pack hierarchy or dies of the wound.

Lydia, however, neither passed away nor became a werewolf as a result of Peter’s attack. Instead, the bite unlocked her hereditary powers as one of Teen Wolf’s other supernatural creatures, a role she played through Teen Wolf's canceled season 7. After her attack at the end of season 1, she became a banshee, a creature with a psychic connection to the dead and the impending dead.